Wyoming Toad

Anaxyrus baxteri

The Wyoming toad is endemic to Wyoming. It is found exclusively in the Laramie Plains and nowhere else in the world.

The Wyoming toad was once abundantly found in the Laramie Basin of southeastern Wyoming, but in the 1970s an alarming population decline occurred. In 1984 it was listed as a Federally Endangered species. In 1985 the toad was believed to be extinct, however, in 1987, a single population was found near the Laramie Plains lakes. This population experienced a crash in 1989. In the late 1900s, a few toads from Mortenson Lake were captured for captive breeding purposes to help recover this species from near extinction. All Wyoming Toads, both in the wild and in captive breeding programs, are descendants of the few Mortenson Lake toads brought into captivity.

Phylum:

Chordata

Class:

Amphibia

Order:

Anura

Family:

Bufonidae

Subfamily:

Genus:

Anaxyrus

Species:

baxteri

Physical Characteristics

The topside of an adult Wyoming toad varies in color, ranging from a dark brown to green, and even gray. The underside of their body, is typically a creamy-white color. The Wyoming toad has small, rounded bumps covering their body, with various blotches of color intermixed. At the time of breeding, males look slightly different than the females due to the presence of nuptial pads and a dark throat patch. The tadpoles are all black and have rounded bodies and eggs are black in color and laid in long strings.

Wyoming toad management

The Wyoming Toad Recovery Team, which consists of various agencies and collaborators, are hard at work providing scientific data and studies to help facilitate the recovery of the Wyoming toad. The captive breeding program in combination with captive-bred reintroductions are also a major part of Wyoming toad conservation efforts.

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Native or nonnative?

Native

Wyoming classification

Nongame

Diet

Invertebrates such as flies, ants, beetles, and aquatic worms

Length

2 inches on average, although females grow slightly larger than males

Weight

1-2 ounces on average

Wyoming Toad Population Status

Species of Greatest Conservation Need

Wyoming toad fun facts

When mating or handled by a human, males have the ability to vocalize by exhibiting certain calls, while females cannot.

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The coloration of the Wyoming toad provides great camouflage for blending in with their environment.

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Their main predators are gartersnakes, skunks, weasels, and birds.

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Patterns on the back of every toad are unique and can be used like fingerprints to identify individuals.

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The Wyoming toad is extremely susceptible to the amphibian chytrid fungus.

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They hibernate during winter.

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The Wyoming toad is a carnivorous species that typically eats invertebrates, including flies, ants, and beetles.

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Wyoming Toad Reproduction

Female Wyoming toads lay strings of up to several thousand eggs in shallow water. Egg strings are fertilized immediately by males. They will usually develop into tadpoles within 3-6 days. Throughout the summer, the tadpole will experience metamorphosis and turn into toadlets, and eventually adult toads.

Where to find

The Wyoming toad prefers floodplain habitat and wetland-like areas near open water with sparse vegetation. The Wyoming toad is notably more aquatic than other toads in Wyoming. Currently, four small populations exist in the Laramie basin of Wyoming, two on wildlife refuges and two on private lands with Safe Harbor Agreements.